Handheld wand device and method for scanning the physical signature data of a physical unclonable function along an arbitrary path

ABSTRACT

Unique physical unclonable function objects are created by molding pre-magnetized or post-magnetized particles into a resin. The particles form a unique physical “fingerprint” based on the random particle size, position, polar rotation, magnetization level, particle density, etc. This invention addresses devices for accurately measuring the physical fingerprint of a PUF, specifically including the X, Y, &amp; Z components of the magnetic field at enough discrete points on the PUF to allow a confident recognition of the identification. A handheld wand is described for measuring the magnetic field along an arbitrary path.

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______, titled “A Device and Method forScanning the Physical Signature Data of a Physical Unclonable Functionwith a Smartphone.”

PRIORITY CLAIM FROM PROVISIONAL APPLICATION

The present application is related to and claims priority under 35U.S.C. 119(e) from U.S. provisional application No. 62/821,883, filedMar. 21, 2019, titled “CryptoAnchor Scan Wand Swiped Along an ArbitraryPath,” the content of which is hereby incorporated by reference hereinin its entirety.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates generally to devices for capturingphysically measurable characteristic signatures along a line on thesurface of a physical unclonable function objects created by moldingspecialized particles into a resin or matrix.

SUMMARY

Unique Physical Unclonable (PUF) function objects may be created bymolding or extruding specialized particles creating a measurablephysical characteristic over a surface. The PUF may be pre-magnetized orpost-magnetized particles into a resin or matrix. The pre-magnetizedparticles form a unique measurable magnetic “fingerprint” based on therandom size, position, polar rotation, magnetization level, particledensity, etc., of the particles. PUF objects may also vary in otherphysical characteristics by having a mixture of magnetic, conductive(magnetic or nonmagnetic), optically reflective or shaped, varieddensities or mechanical properties resulting in random reflection,diffusion, or absorption of acoustical energy particles in a matrix orbinder. The present invention envisions sensing any of thecharacteristics in any singular or combination along an arbitrary lineon the surface.

Described below are devices for accurately measuring the magneticfingerprint of a PUF, including the X, Y, & Z components of the magneticfield at enough discrete points on the PUF to allow a confidentrecognition of the identification. The sensing devices may also measureany combination of additional sensing technologies including capacitive,optical (IR, visible, and hyperspectral) or acoustic (sonic andultra-sonic). Each sensor may be discrete, combined adjacent to eachother, or integrated in to one sensing module. While the presentinvention discusses a magnetic PUF and magnetic sensor or reader, it isto be understood that and of the said sensing technologies may beavailable in the wand or phone.

A handheld wand is described for measuring the PUF characteristics alongan arbitrary path. The preferred measurement sensor is a magnetometer isdue to its low cost. Further, a structural element to which a PUF tag isaffixed is described that may be used to scan a PUF tag with asmartphone magnetometer by swiping the structural element along the sideof the phone and controlling the position of the PUF tag with guides.The structural element may be shaped in a way that encourages the user'sfinger to be placed on the touchscreen while holding the PUF tag inposition on the edge of the smartphone. The touchscreen contact of theuser when swiping the structural element may generate positional data.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above-mentioned and other features and advantages of the disclosedembodiments, and the manner of attaining them, will become more apparentand will be better understood by reference to the following descriptionof the disclosed embodiments in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings.

FIG. 1 is a logic flow chart for capturing the characteristic signaturealong an arbitrary path of a PUF using a scan wand.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a scan wand.

FIG. 3 is an arbitrary path for scanning the characteristic fingerprintof a PUF.

FIG. 4 is a logic flow chart for capturing the characteristic signatureof a PUF tag using a smartphone or other device.

FIG. 5 is a support structure for a PUF tag.

FIG. 5A is an isometric view of a support structure for a PUF tag.

FIG. 5B is a top view of a support structure for a PUF tag.

FIG. 5C is an end view of a support structure for a PUF tag.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a support structure for a PUF tagpositioned on a smartphone or other device.

FIG. 7 is a view of measurements of the characteristic fingerprint ofthe PUF tag on a smartphone application.

FIG. 8 shows minor differences in the magnetometer positions of twosmartphone models.

FIG. 9 shows a top view of the support structure for a PUF tagpositioned on a smartphone or other device, where the operators thumbcontact with the smartphone touchscreen provides a position measurementas the support structure slides to read the magnetic fingerprint of thePUF.

FIG. 10 shows a top view of the support structure for the PUF tagpositioned on a smartphone or other device, where the operators thumbcontact with the smartphone provides a position measurement as thesupport structure slides to read the magnetic fingerprint of the PUF andthe support structure can be flipped for a second pass to read themagnetic fingerprint.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It is to be understood that the present disclosure is not limited in itsapplication to the details of construction and the arrangement ofcomponents set forth in the following description or illustrated in thedrawings. The present disclosure is capable of other embodiments and ofbeing practiced or of being carried out in various ways. Also, it is tobe understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is forthe purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. Asused herein, the terms “having,” “containing,” “including,”“comprising,” and the like are open ended terms that indicate thepresence of stated elements or features, but do not preclude additionalelements or features. The articles “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural as well as the singular, unless the context clearlyindicates otherwise. The use of “including,” “comprising,” or “having,”and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass the items listedthereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items.

Terms such as “about” and the like have a contextual meaning, are usedto describe various characteristics of an object, and such terms havetheir ordinary and customary meaning to persons of ordinary skill in thepertinent art. Terms such as “about” and the like, in a first contextmean “approximately” to an extent as understood by persons of ordinaryskill in the pertinent art; and, in a second context, are used todescribe various characteristics of an object, and in such secondcontext mean “within a small percentage of” as understood by persons ofordinary skill in the pertinent art.

Unless limited otherwise, the terms “connected,” “coupled,” and“mounted,” and variations thereof herein are used broadly and encompassdirect and indirect connections, couplings, and mountings. In addition,the terms “connected” and “coupled” and variations thereof are notrestricted to physical or mechanical connections or couplings. Spatiallyrelative terms such as “top,” “bottom,” “front,” “back,” “rear,” and“side,” “under,” “below,” “lower,” “over,” “upper,” and the like, areused for ease of description to explain the positioning of one elementrelative to a second element. These terms are intended to encompassdifferent orientations of the device in addition to differentorientations than those depicted in the figures. Further, terms such as“first,” “second,” and the like, are also used to describe variouselements, regions, sections, etc., and are also not intended to belimiting. Like terms refer to like elements throughout the description.

Unique magnetic objects are created by molding pre-magnetized particlesinto a resin (nylon, etc.). The pre-magnetized particles form a uniquemagnetic “fingerprint” based on the random size, position, polarrotation, magnetization level, particle density, etc., of the particles.PUF objects may also vary in other physical characteristics by having amixture of magnetic, conductive (magnetic or nonmagnetic), opticallyreflective or shaped, varied densities or mechanical propertiesresulting in random reflection, and/or diffusion or absorption ofacoustical energy particles in a matrix or binder. The present inventionenvisions sensing any of these characteristics in any combination alonga path. All of these PUF characteristics result in object's physicalfingerprint that is a continuously varying in amplitude, direction, ordepth over the observable surface. These variations are resolved intoits directional or scaler components and stored for later verification.

A hardware reader capable of accurately measuring the physicalcharacteristics of the fingerprint for a tag is required, however. Thereader preferably measures the magnetic field of the X, Y, & Zcomponents at enough unique points on a PUF to allow a confidentrecognition of the unique identification. Any one magnetic fieldcomponent measured would satisfy the minimal system needed. The readerhardware may incorporate any combination or individual sensing unitsincluding magnetic as described here as well as optical (IR, visual orhyperspectral, focused or laser), capacitive or acoustic (sonic orultrasonic).

Described below is an apparatus for capturing the magnetic and othersignature characteristics along an arbitrary path of a PUF. Referringnow to the drawings and particularly to FIG. 1, there is shown a logicflow chart of one sample embodiment.

At 101, a PUF tag is manufactured, and then at 102, scanned for itsphysical characteristics of interest at high resolution to enroll thePUF tag fingerprint information in a data base. The scan may includemagnetic, optical (IR, visual or hyperspectral, focused or laser),capacitive or acoustic (sonic or ultrasonic) information over thesurface. For this purpose, at 103, the information is uploaded to asecure cloud environment for later access. The data base is not limitedto a cloud environment for 103, however, and a server or other local orremote resource may be used as well. The enrolled data may be encryptedor directly stored in a remote cloud environment or locally depending onthe level of security needed. Visual storage may include a barcode,Quick Response (QR) code or field pattern image associated with theobject. The visual pattern or picture can be printed or displayed on theobject or any location that represents easy access. Local storage mayalso include electronics using an RFID (UHF, HF or LF) or directconnected wire device like USB or credit card integrated circuit orBluetooth device for example.

At 104, a user attaches the PUF tag to an item, and scans the PUF tag tologically link the characteristic fingerprint of the PUF tag to aproduct. The attachment method may include using an adhesive, overmolding, or injection into an existing part for example. At 105, adownstream user in the chain of commerce may use the reader device thatis deployed in the supply chain to identify and authenticate a givenproduct.

At 106, the reader 201, see FIG. 2, containing one or more magnetic,optical (IR, visual or hyperspectral, focused, or laser), capacitive oracoustic (sonic or ultrasonic) sensors 211 on the tip of a wand-typehandheld device is used to scan or read the characteristic fingerprintof the PUF tag on the product. On the tip of the wand, placed close tothe characteristic sensor 211, is position tracking device 221 that maybe an optical sensor similar to what is found in a computer laser mouseor an Inertial Measuring Unit (IMU). The optical position trackingdevice 221 takes high frequency image captures of the surface andcomputes a change in X, Y, and θ (rotation) between each image capturedin order to determine positional movement. Other position location maybe substituted that include touch pad, positioning arms (CoordinateMeasuring Machine “CMM”) or time of flight sonic or radio frequencytechniques for example. This device is capable of either communicatingthe reader characters and position data to a mobile or remote device forprocessing, or performing the calculations on an internal microprocessor(not shown) and providing feedback to the user by, for example, a userinterface (“UI”), light emitting diode (“LED”), or vibration/hapticfeedback.

At 107, the user scans the tag by bringing the wand in contact, ornear-contact with the PUF tag and swiping along an arbitrary path 304 asshown further in FIG. 3. In FIG. 3, the PUF tag 302 may be part of, orattached to, a larger element 301. The arbitrary path 304 may begin atan arbitrary start point 304 and finish at an arbitrary stop point 305.A reference fiducial point 303 may also be included. Due to thearbitrary nature of the potential swipe paths, a cloned tag would needto successfully reproduce all characteristic structures for the entiretag surface and not just a known path. Thus an arbitrary scan pathcomplicates efforts to clone the PUF tag. Most of the sensing techniquesrequire close proximity between the sensors and the PUF tag. Anadditional feature is to have the sensing devices on a system thatallows rotation and alignment to the PUF surface. A spring or universalalinement swivel (not shown) would assist with the ergonomics ofaligning to the surface.

However, the added level of security afforded by an arbitrary scan pathcomes at an expense in that it may become more difficult ortime-consuming processing task to “recognize” the characteristic path ofdata against the known enrollment fingerprint.

In order to minimize the more difficult task of recognizing an arbitrarypath, sensible fiducials 303 may be inserted within the tag. In itssimplest form, these could be voids or holes where no particles existwithin a specific region of the tag. A user would be directed tocontinue swiping in a variety of paths until a certain number offiducials had been encountered. Such a forced swipe through fiducials,enables a tag recognition processing algorithm to quickly set key datapoints and filter the potential tags with fiducials in the rightlocation(s).

At 108, during the swiping, the wand 201 captures positional data andcharacteristic data at discrete positions along the arbitrary path 306.

At 109, in the event that a user quickly encounters a variety of highlyrecognizable characteristic data and/or characteristic fiducials, theuser may be notified that the scan is complete (by, for example, UI,LED, or vibration/haptic feedback). If a user does not encounter highlydiscernable characteristic structures the user may be instructed tocontinue swiping until enough data has been found, or a confidentcharacteristic fingerprint match has been detected. The random nature ofthe variable quantity of characteristic data captured depends on thearbitrary path, which creates additional security and increases thecloning difficulty 110.

At 111, the characteristic components are reprocessed to removevariations from rotation of the wand. The characteristic and opticalpositional sensors trace slightly different paths depending on therelative position of the sensors. Since an objective is to match orrecognize the characteristic fingerprint, when characteristic data iscaptured, the expected position and rotation of the sensor based on theoptical sensor data may be assessed.

The rotation of the characteristic sensor at any given point introducesa secondary data processing step. The actual characteristic fingerprintdata can be resolved into 3-dimensional vector components (BX, BY, & BZ)or scaler data. If the characteristic sensor is held precisely above aspecific X, Y coordinate of the tag and then rotated about a theoreticalZ-axis, the sensor values of BX, BY, and BZ for magnetic will change butwill not for scaler data. This change is predicted mathematically aslong as the rotation angle is known, which is measured by the opticalsensor. Thus, for each magnetic data capture sequence the computed X, Yposition of the magnetic sensor is recorded, and also the computed BX,BY, & BZ elements of the magnetic field based on the known rotation ofthe magnetic sensor.

At 112, the characteristic fingerprint are compared to the originalenrollment data to confirm authenticity.

In a second embodiment, a magnetic PUF tag is scanned using asmartphone's magnetometer and screen for positional control. Asdescribed above, unique objects are created by molding pre-magnetizedparticles into a resin (nylon, etc.). The pre-magnetized particles forma unique magnetic “fingerprint” based on the random size, position,polar rotation, magnetization level, particle density, etc., of theparticles. Described here are elements which enable a commonly availablemobile device, such as a smartphone, to be used as the handheld readerfor a PUF tag. These elements include: smartphone specific userinstructions for magnetometer scan path; user interface elements;mechanical location control of a tag in relation to smartphone'smagnetic sensor; single or multiple capacitive touch points; devicedependent data amplification or filtering to compensate for variationsin mobile device.

Referring now to the drawings and particularly to FIG. 4, there is showna logic flow chart of one sample embodiment. At 401, a physicalunclonable function tag 550 is manufactured, and may be mounting on astructural element 500, see FIG. 5. At 402, the PUF tag 550 ismagnetically scanned at high resolution to enroll the magneticfingerprint information in a data base. For this purpose, at 403, theinformation is uploaded to a secure cloud environment for later access.The data base is not limited to a cloud environment, however, and aserver or other resource may be used as well.

At 404, a user attaches the structural element 500 with the PUF tag 550to an item and scans the PUF tag 550 to logically link the magneticfingerprint of the PUF tag 550 to a product. At 405, a downstream userin the chain of commerce may use a magnetic reader to identify andauthenticate a given product. A user may either utilize a programmedscanning device or install a mobile smartphone application (“app”) foruse of a smartphone 600, see FIG. 6, as a magnetic reader.

At 406, the operating system of the scanning device or an application ona smartphone provides user instructions for magnetometer scan path.Different manufacturers of different smartphone models place themagnetometers in different positions. However, due to a primary use of acompass within a smartphone mobile device, the magnetometer is typicallyplaced on an outer edge of the device. For example, two Apple® iPhone®models show slight variation in the magnetometer location (see FIG. 8,e.g., iPhone XS® and iPhone XR®). Further, another variable is thethickness of the phone and thus the difference in “depth” between themeasurement element in the magnetometer and the back surface of thephone. This difference in depth will have an effect on the amplitude ofthe magnetic signature that is captured. For example, a smartphone witha slightly thicker piece of glass on the back surface of the smartphonewould create a larger gap between the PUF tag 550 and the sensingelement. This will create a lower amplitude version of the magneticsignature. The general profile in most cases will remain the same, butthe peak amplitudes are smaller. Based on the knowledge of whatsmartphone model is performing the scan, this amplitude impact can becompensated for using a device dependent amplification algorithm.

When a smartphone app is launched, it is generally able to detect thephone model, from which the app can reference a database to determinewhere the magnetometer is located on that given model of device. The appcan then give instructions for how a user should scan their PUF tag 550on a device. For example, on the smartphone app, the user can bedirected with where to position the structural element 500 with the PUFtag 550 on the edge of the phone; what direction 903, see FIG. 9, toswipe the PUF tag 550 with respect to the smartphone 600; what speed toswipe the tag; warn the user if the PUF tag 500 swipe 903 was performedtoo quickly or slowly, and prompt the user to reswipe if needed, andwhether to flip the tag 1004 and swipe a second surface 1005, see FIG.10. When a PUF tag is flipped and scanned so that the magnetic surfaceof the PUF tag 500 is in contact with the screen side surface of thesmartphone 600 the magnetic signature is uniquely different, yet stillrepeatably consistent. Performing a secondary scan can create anotherlevel of security and authentication for use cases requiring such.

At 408, the user aligns the structural element 500 with the PUF tag 550on the edge of the smartphone 600. See FIG. 5. The support element 500has base element 503 that typically rests against the bottom of thesmartphone 600. The top of the support element 500 has prongs 501, 502that may rest on the touchscreen face 602 of the smartphone 600. A gapbetween the prongs 501, 502 allows the users thumb to contact thetouchscreen 602. The gap between the prongs may have curvature toimprove the user's grip. Barrier element 505 abuts the edge of thesmartphone 600 to position the PUF tag 550 with respect to themagnetometer, 802, 811, for example. Note that magnetometers 802 and 811are not in precisely the same position. Springs or similar flexingsupport structures (not shown) may be used to allow smartphones ofvarious thicknesses to be held snuggly as the PUF tag 550 is swipedalong the edge of the smartphone. One or more datum surfaces can bedefined so that the PUF tag 550 is swiped with positional consistencyover the smartphone magnetometer. In some implementations, the datumsmay be spaced such that a center gap is left open and any buttons on theside of the phone can be swiped over without impacting the path of thestructural element 500 with the PUF tag 550.

The PUF tag 550 is positioned on structural element 500 tag by seatingthe PUF tag 550 against the surface 504 of the structural element 500.Only a portion of the PUF tag 550 is read by the smartphone magnetometerbecause of the barrier element 505 abutting the edge of the smartphone600. A wide enough portion of the PUF tag 550 is placed within the tagstructure to allow for tolerance of swipe and also to compensate forpotential distance variations in the placement of the magnetometer alongthe edge of the smartphone. This is typically on the order of 5-10 mmbut can be varied to 0-20 mm. Precise positioning of the PUF tag 550 onthe structural element 500 is not required as long as the PUF tag 550 ispermanently affixed before enrolling, 402.

At 409, the tag structure, with a gap between the prongs 501, 502directs the user's finger or thumb into contact with the smartphonescreen 602. Alternatively, a capacitive element such as a stylus may beused or may be incorporated into the structural element 500. In order totake position-accurate magnetic data captures at high frequency as thetag is swiped, the “positional” location of the PUF tag 550 at eachmagnetic capture point must be recorded. Here, the touchscreen surface602 is used as an input sensor. The structural element 500 is shaped ina way that encourages the user's finger to be placed on the touchscreen602 while holding the PUF tag 550 in position on the edge of thesmartphone 600. The user interface may prompt the user to hold the PUFtag 550 appropriately.

If some form of capacitive rubber material (such as what is commonlyused in a device stylus) could be permanently attached to the interiorof the structural element 500 in a similar location to what would havebeen the finger swipe region, such as on the interior ends of the prongs501, 502. In this case the structural element 500 would ride along thesurface of the touchscreen 602 and provide the positional input thatcould be associated to the magnetic readings during the PUF tag 550swipe. In yet another embodiment, the capacitive touch element may haveseparate features. With the addition of modern under-touchscreenultrasonic fingerprint technologies on new generations of smartphonedevices, the ability to use the ultrasonic sensor to recognize thestructure of the capacitive elements in contact with the surface becomepossible.

In the event that two capacitive rubber elements (not shown) were placedon the inner surface of the structural element 500 and then positionedon the touchscreen for scanning, the smartphone app could compute a skewfactor in the event that a user did not swipe the structural element 500along the edge of the smartphone 600 while keeping the structuralelement 500 barrier 504 against the smartphone 600 edge. This skewfactor would be used during the magnetic signature matching algorithm.

At 410, as the user swipes the PUF tag 550, magnetometer field data BX,BY, & BZ and touchscreen position data (p) is captured simultaneously,see FIG. 7. The smarthpone app may generate an X-Y plot with theposition shown on the X-axis, and corresponding magnetomer field datashown on the Y-axis.

The foregoing description of embodiments has been presented for purposesof illustration. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit thepresent disclosure to the precise steps and/or forms disclosed, andobviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of theabove teaching. It is intended that the scope of the invention bedefined by the claims appended hereto.

We claim:
 1. A handheld device for scanning a magnetic signature data ofa physical unclonable function (PUF) along an arbitrary path comprising:a body; one or more Hall effect sensors on the tip of the device; anoptical position tracking device adjacent to the sensors.
 2. The deviceof claim 1, wherein the device communicates the magnetic and positionaldata to a mobile device.
 3. The device of claim 1, wherein an internalmicroprocessor performs calculations on the magnetic signature data andpositional movement of the device.
 4. The device of claim 3, wherein thedevice provides feedback to a user.
 5. The device of claim 4, whereinthe feedback is provided by a user interface, a light emitting diode, orhaptic feedback.
 6. A method for capturing a magnetic signature dataalong an arbitrary path of a physical unclonable function (“PUF”)comprising: manufacturing a PUF tag with magnetic particles embedded inthe tag; magnetically scanning the PUF tag to enroll the magneticsignature data; linking the PUF tag to a product; scanning the PUF tagwith a reader that has at least one Hall effect sensor along anarbitrary path the measure the magnetic signature data; capturing thepositional and magnetic data from the PUF tag along the arbitrary path;continuing to scan the PUF tag along arbitrary paths until sufficientdata is collected or the PUF tag is successfully authenticated;processing the magnetic signature data collected to remove variationsfrom changing angular position; and comparing the magnetic signaturedata collected to that stored in the secure cloud environment forauthentication.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the scanning iscontinued along a variety of paths until a certain number of magneticfiducials have been encountered.
 8. The method of claim 6, wherein arotation of the Hall effect sensor at any given point is measured by theoptical sensor.
 9. The method of claim 6, wherein the magnetic signaturedata is uploaded to a secure cloud environment.
 10. The method of claim6, wherein the magnetic signature data is uploaded to a secure server.